Barabaanki police arrest 10 including church father for attempting to convert a large group of Hindus under garb of healing
Bara Banki, Uttar Pradesh, India 
4 February, 2024
Case Summary
In Barabanki, UP, a case of religious conversion surfaced, prompting a police raid on a church following a tip-off. SDM Bijay Kumar Trivedi, CO Binu Singh, and a large police force discovered over 200 people, mostly belonging to the Scheduled Caste communities from Ayodhya and nearby areas, gathered under the pretext of treatment. Attendees, many of whom were poor, were offered free food and lured with promises of healing and money. The police registered a case under the Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act against 10 individuals, including Father Dominic Pinto, for attempting to convert the Hindus to Christianity using religious literature. The raid occurred in the Devi Ke Mati area near St. Matthew College. The police questioned the attendees, revealing that they had been transported by bus and given religious literature during the journey. ASP North Chiranjeevi Nath Sinha confirmed no permission was taken for the meeting. Those arrested included Sunil, Surendra, Ghanshyam Gautam, Pawan, Suraj, and Sarju Prasad, all residents of Ayodhya. A case was filed in Deva Kotwali based on a complaint by local villager Arvind. Barabanki (city) circle officer Beenu Singh said, “These people were brought from Ayodhya on the pretext of treatment of their ailment through religious activity and were lured with jobs. The priest, with the help of others, was trying to convert them to Christianity by making them worship in the church. Most of the people were illiterate and could not understand the intention behind the gathering. The priest was trying to convert them by making false claims about treating them through religious activity.”
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under the core category of Predatory Proselytisation because there is a distinct component in this case, which essentially involves conversion through inducements. Predatory Proselytisation is not just limited to threat, harassment, force and violence, but it also has contours of stealth. In several cases, the Hindu victim is exploited to convert, with non-Hindus taking advantage of their poverty. In such cases, the Hindu victim who is suffering financially is offered monetary benefits, including lucrative offers for jobs, health treatment, education, etc, to induce the victim into changing his/her religion. In such cases, the religious identity of the victim and the aim to disenfranchise him from his faith form the heart of the crime. Also, taking advantage of and exploiting an individual’s economic vulnerabilities is widely acknowledged as exploitation, forms of which are often penalised by law. Such cases therefore are considered religiously motivated hate crimes since the victim’s religious identity forms the very heart of the crime itself. In this case, the Christian evangelists were attempting to exploit a specific vulnerability of the victims who were economically backward. The missionaries exploited the poor victims by promising them food, money and cures for their ailments - a cure that they either could not afford or for incurable diseases. Since exploiting vulnerabilities for the explicit purpose of conversion is purely based on animosity towards the victim's faith, this case has been categorised as a religiously motivated hate crime.
Victim Details
Total Victim
200
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 200
Caste
- SC/ST 200
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 200
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
